particle physics

More data is needed before hints can be confirmed

(Newser) -
First, scientists experimenting with CERN's Large Hadron Collider discovered the Higgs boson . Next came the possible discovery of pentaquarks . Now scientists may have detected a new, unknown particle. Working from June to mid-November, two teams from the European Organization for Nuclear Research, aka CERN, spotted excess pairs of gamma...
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Physicist makes wry prediction about the Higgs Boson particle

(Newser) -
Stephen Hawking has already warned that aliens might wipe out the human race . Now another mild prediction: The Higgs boson or "God" particle could cause a "catastrophic vacuum delay" that undermines space-time and destroys the universe, reports the Sunday Times via CNET . How so? Well, the particle "...
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Contraption could be 4 times size of Large Hadron Collider

(Newser) -
The Large Hadron Collider has only been in "full swing" for three years, notes a leading CERN physicist—but since planning for it began in 1983, it's already time to start thinking about what's next. In the case of the European particle physics organization, that means considering...
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Name makes Peter Higgs a 'rock star,' fellow theorist complains

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Amid rumors that this year's Nobel Prize for Physics will go to the Higgs boson theory, some scientists say the particle's name should be changed so that all the glory doesn't go to British physicist Peter Higgs. At a press conference last year to announce the particle'...
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There's only a one-in-300 million chance it doesn't exist

(Newser) -
One of the teams hunting the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider says it has pinned down the particle so conclusively that there's only a one-in-300 million chance it does not exist. When the team announced that it had discovered the Higgs on July 4, it said it...
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Could be Large Hadron Collider's last major discovery

(Newser) -
The discovery of the Higgs boson deserves applause—but it also brings a touch of sadness to at least one leading physicist. It's probably "the last major discovery that could be made in a particle accelerator in our generation," writes Stephen Wolfram at his blog . And instead...
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He bet Michigan prof that particle would never be found

(Newser) -
The apparent discovery of the Higgs boson particle has come at a cost to Stephen Hawking: The world-renowned physicist has lost a $100 bet with Gordon Kane of Michigan University that it wouldn't be found. "It seems I have just lost $100," Hawking tells the BBC . "...
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New particle looks just like long-sought boson

(Newser) -
To cheers and standing ovations from scientists, the world's biggest atom smasher claimed the discovery of a new subatomic particle today, calling it "consistent" with the long-sought Higgs boson. CERN's director said the newly discovered subatomic particle is a boson, but he stopped just shy of claiming...
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Physicists produced it during quest to learn more about Big Bang

(Newser) -
A team of New York physicists has managed to smash gold ions into a quark-gluon plasma much like the one believed to have existed in the milliseconds after the Big Bang—and in the process broken the Guinness World Record for the hottest man-made temperature ever recorded. The plasma hit...
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Magnetic field seems to induce particle vanishings

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A universe right next door may be stealing our neutrons, or at least giving them quickie vacations, Science Daily reports. A pair of theoretical physicists in Italy came to this conclusion after analyzing the "loss rate" of certain neutrons in a French experiment. The vanishings seemed to depend on...
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New experiment shows particles at identical speed with light

(Newser) -
Einstein's theory apparently remains untouchable, and flabbergasted theoretical physicists can cease hyperventilating: Neutrinos do not exceed the speed of light, but they do appear to travel at the same speed as light, according to the results of a recent experiment. The new data confirm Einstein's foundational ideas and...
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Chi-b (3P) will help scientists understand nuclear forces

(Newser) -
It’s no God particle, but it’s exciting nonetheless: For the first time since it opened in 2009, the Large Hadron Collider has made a clear observation of a new particle. Chi-b (3P), as it is called, will help scientists gain a better understanding of the strong nuclear forces...
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Teams spot promising bumps, but can't prove particle exists

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CERN's much-hyped presentation of its latest Large Hadron Collider results proved to be a bit of a letdown today, as two teams of scientists both admitted that, despite some "tantalizing hints," they hadn't located the elusive Higgs boson yet. They did, however, narrow down where it...
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Physicists' understanding of the universe is at stake

(Newser) -
Christmas may be about to come early for the world's physicists. Two competing teams of scientists who have been sifting through data from CERN's Large Hadron Collider will give a progress report today. Scientists caution that there won't be any firm answer on whether the Higgs boson...
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Result backs up much-hyped, and much criticized, earlier experiment

(Newser) -
The international physics team OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion Tracking Apparatus) has managed to recreate the result that shocked the physics world , again detecting a batch of subatomic particles moving faster than the speed of light, the Washington Post reports. The "positive outcome of the test makes us more...
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CERN, Fermilab find 'bumps' in data that could be Higgs boson particle

(Newser) -
Science teams in both Europe and America are reporting promising new data in the hunt for the elusive Higgs boson particle —the so-called "God particle" believed to give mass to matter that remains the only particle predicted by the Standard Model of physics that has not yet been...
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It might be new version of the Higgs boson, or something else entirely

(Newser) -
Fermilab may have found a brand new elementary particle. The Illinois lab will today announce a strange blip in its data that could represent either a new, unexpected form of the fabled Higgs boson particle, or some entirely new force of nature, the New York Times reports. “Nobody knows...
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Elusive Higgs boson signal would confirm particle physics model

(Newser) -
Take that, Large Hadron Collider: Just as the particle accelerator at the Fermi national lab in Illinois was about to be retired in favor of the bigger LHC, rumor has it that the Fermi accelerator, the Tevatron, has found the long-sought Higgs boson, also known as the "God particle....
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But it's still slower than Fermilab

(Newser) -
The Large Hadron Collider has just achieved its highest particle collision rate ever, bringing it a step closer to the major discoveries scientists have long hoped it would produce. The collider is now smashing together 10,000 particles per second, or roughly double its previous best, the BBC reports. That’...
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Proton collision shatters record as scientists cheer

(Newser) -
The world's largest atom smasher conducted its first experiments at conditions nearing those after the Big Bang today, breaking its own record for high-energy collisions with proton beams crashing into each other at three times more force than ever before. In a milestone for the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider's...
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